Philadelphia 76ers: Dwight Howard surprisingly reunites with Daryl Morey

Dwight Howard swerved a second season in LA for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Welp, the NBA’s like that sometimes. You patiently wait for something to happen only for nothing, nothing, nothing, and then boom; news breaks that the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to sign Dwight Howard.

I’m not complaining or anything; it’s just funny how these things work sometimes.

Though the exact conditions of the deal remain to be officially announced (UPDATE: one-year, $2.6 million per Bobby Marks), what is known is that earlier in the evening, The Athletics’ Shams Charania reported that Howard was heading back to Los Angeles to wheel it back with the Lakers after winning his first championship earlier this year in a since-deleted tweet replaced only with a recension that you can find here.

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What happened in that hour-plus between Charania’s initial tweet and his announcement of an agreed-upon deal with Philadelphia? We may never know, but what we do know is that Dwight ‘Superman’ Howard is headed to the City of Brotherly Love to miraculously reunite with Daryl Morey for a second run together.

That’s right, for those fans new or otherwise, Howard initially played for Morey from 2013-15 as a member of the Houston Rockets after signing a four-year, $88 million deal after an unusual (first) tenure with the Lakers. Though many assumed that a James Harden-Howard pairing would be dynamite, it ultimately turned out to be a fun-yet-fruitless tenure that ended with the eight-time All-Star declining his player option for a three-year, $70 million free agency deal with his hometown Atlanta Hawks.

From there, Howard bounced around the league, playing for the Hawks, Hornets, and Wizards before making his way back to LA for what would be his comeback season.

And in a weird way, things have come ever fuller circle, as Howard has now left Los Angeles for Morey yet again, bringing things back to where they began in 2013, before his career took a bizarre three-year spiral downhill.

Now if you’re a lapsed NBA fan from the early 2000s, you may be confused why the Sixers would explicitly sign an eight-time All-Star with a list of accolades a mile long when they already have Joel Embiid. If this was 2005 or even 2015 Howard, you’d be 100 percent correct with that assertion, but in 2020, Superman has transitioned into more of a Robin role; to mix my DC superheroes.

Over his 69 game tenure in LA, Howard averaged 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 18.9 minutes of action a night splitting time with JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis. Those numbers are very impressive for a backup, but they’re a far cry from the commanding double-double Howard averaged during his time in Orlando, Houston, Charlotte, and even his first tenure in LA.

With that being said, even at soon-to-be-35-years-old, Howard can still contribute and, get this, bring some winning culture to Philadelphia alongside his ex-Lakers teammate Danny Green.

Fun fact: If you’d have told anyone Howard could bring a championship culture anywhere a little over a year ago, you’d have been laughed off the internet. It legitimately can’t be overstated just how impressive Howard’s transformation from superstar ego to willing bench contributor has been to watch.

Though some will turn their noses up at the idea of adding Howard in free agency, as many wanted a reunion between the Sixers and the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Nerlens Noel, Howard is more than capable of playing the 15 minutes a game Embiid is off the court, and can more than hold his own in double the minutes as a spot-up starter.

Remember what Elton Brand wanted out of Al Horford last summer? Howard can bring a similar veteran presence without the $100-plus million price tag.

Next. The case to finally free Dario Saric. dark

Is Dwight Howard a perfect fit for the Philadelphia 76ers? No. He certainly fits next to Ben Simmons in a transition-based look, but he’s far from a prolific 3 point shooter and can really only play center. With that being said, Howard signed with the Sixers for a reason, and that clearly isn’t to start. If he’s willing to accept his role as Joel Embiid’s 1B, then, by all means, welcome aboard. There will certainly be more minutes available here than in Los Angeles, even if they come more sporadically. Quick, someone check if number six is available (spoiler alert, it’s not).